The artwork takes images from various shark-related videos to create a harmonious, visual montage. The source elements include: divers swimming with sharks, academic biological analysis, religious legends, overfishing, sharks attacking humans, the merciless slaughter of sharks, shark fin consumption and the shark fin trade, and workers returning beached sharks to the ocean. The single frames from these sources create a sequence; an abstract but readable visual. The work becomes a shimmering ocean scene. It asks the audience to reflect on man’s relationship with nature and to consider how the overfishing of sharks impacts the marine ecosystem – and what disastrous results may come.

BIO

Wang Guofeng is an independent artist who was born in 1967 in Liaoning, China. He graduated from the Inner Mongolia Normal University in 1991 and the Chinese Painting Department of Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1998. He has exhibited in many international countries including North Korea, Russia, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. He works and lives in Beijing.